Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows
Encyclopedia
The Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows is a montane grasslands and shrublands
ecoregion
of Bhutan
, China
, India
, Myanmar
, and Nepal
, which lies between the tree line and snow line
in the eastern portion of the Himalaya Range.
in central Nepal eastwards through Tibet
and India's Sikkim
state, Bhutan
, India's Arunachal Pradesh
state, and northernmost Myanmar
.
The alpine shrub and meadows lie between approximately 4000 and 5500 m (13,123.4 and 18,044.6 ft) elevation. Permanent ice and snow lies above 5500 metres (18,044.6 ft). The Eastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests
lie below 3000 metres (9,842.5 ft) along the southern slopes of the range, from Central Nepal to Bhutan. The Northeastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests
lie south of the range in Arunachal Pradesh, extending north of the range into the lower valley of the Brahmaputra River
and its tributaries. The Northern Triangle temperate forests
lie to the south of the alpine shrub and meadows in northern Myanmar, and the Nujiang Langcang Gorge alpine conifer and mixed forests lie to the east in the gorges of the upper Irrawaddy and Salween
rivers.
The Yarlung Tsangpo arid steppe lies in the upper Brahmaputra Valley of Tibet, north of the Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows.
s, predominate at lower elevations, close to the treeline. The rhododendron flora of the ecoregion is quite varied, with species composition changing as one moves from west to east along the range.
Above the shrublands are alpine meadows which support a variety of herbaceous plants, including species of Alchemilla
, Androsace
, Anemone
, Diapensia
, Draba
, Gentiana, Impatiens
, Leontopodium
, Meconopsis
, Pedicularis, Potentilla
, Primula
, Rhododendron
, Saussurea
, Saxifraga, Sedum
, and Viola
. In the spring and summer, the alpine meadows are covered with brightly-colored flowers.
On the upper slopes, low grasses and cushion plants grow among the boulders and scree.
(Uncia uncia), Bharal
or Himalayan Blue Sheep (Pseudois nayaur), Himalayan Tahr
(Hemitragus jemlahicus), takin
(Budorcas taxicolor), Himalayan Musk Deer
(Moschus chrysogaster), Himalayan Goral (Nemorhaedus baileyi), and Mainland Serow
(Capricornis sumatraensis). Smaller mammals include Himalayan Marmot
s (Marmota himalayana), weasels, and pikas.
Montane grasslands and shrublands
Montane grasslands and shrublands is a biome defined by the World Wildlife Fund. The biome includes high altitude grasslands and shrublands around the world....
ecoregion
Ecoregion
An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...
of Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
, and Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, which lies between the tree line and snow line
Snow line
The climatic snow line is the point above which snow and ice cover the ground throughout the year. The actual snow line may seasonally be significantly lower....
in the eastern portion of the Himalaya Range.
Setting
The Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows covers an area of 121300 sqkm, extending along the north and south faces of the Himalaya Range from the Kali Gandaki GorgeKali Gandaki Gorge
The Kali Gandaki Gorge or Andha Galchi is the gorge of the Kali Gandaki in the Himalayas in Nepal, by some measures the deepest gorge in the world....
in central Nepal eastwards through Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
and India's Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...
state, Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
, India's Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh is a state of India, located in the far northeast. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south, and shares international borders with Burma in the east, Bhutan in the west, and the People's Republic of China in the north. The majority of the territory is claimed by...
state, and northernmost Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
.
The alpine shrub and meadows lie between approximately 4000 and 5500 m (13,123.4 and 18,044.6 ft) elevation. Permanent ice and snow lies above 5500 metres (18,044.6 ft). The Eastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests
Eastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests
The Eastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests is a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion which is found in the middle and upper elevations of the eastern Middle Himalayas, in western Nepal, Bhutan and northern Indian states including Arunachal Pradesh....
lie below 3000 metres (9,842.5 ft) along the southern slopes of the range, from Central Nepal to Bhutan. The Northeastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests
Northeastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests
The Northeastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests is a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion of the middle to upper elevations of the eastern Himalayas. It occurs in southeastern Tibet and northeastern India.-Setting:...
lie south of the range in Arunachal Pradesh, extending north of the range into the lower valley of the Brahmaputra River
Brahmaputra River
The Brahmaputra , also called Tsangpo-Brahmaputra, is a trans-boundary river and one of the major rivers of Asia. It is the only Indian river that is attributed the masculine gender and thus referred to as a in Indo-Aryan languages and languages with Indo-Aryan influence...
and its tributaries. The Northern Triangle temperate forests
Northern Triangle temperate forests
The Northern Triangle temperate forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forest ecoregion of thick forest covering the mountains of northern Myanmar.-Setting:...
lie to the south of the alpine shrub and meadows in northern Myanmar, and the Nujiang Langcang Gorge alpine conifer and mixed forests lie to the east in the gorges of the upper Irrawaddy and Salween
Salween River
The Salween is a river, about long, that flows from the Tibetan Plateau into the Andaman Sea in Southeast Asia. It drains a narrow and mountainous watershed of that extends into the countries China, Burma and Thailand. Steep canyon walls line the swift, powerful and undammed Salween, one of the...
rivers.
The Yarlung Tsangpo arid steppe lies in the upper Brahmaputra Valley of Tibet, north of the Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows.
Flora
Alpine shrublands, characterized by rhododendronRhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
s, predominate at lower elevations, close to the treeline. The rhododendron flora of the ecoregion is quite varied, with species composition changing as one moves from west to east along the range.
Above the shrublands are alpine meadows which support a variety of herbaceous plants, including species of Alchemilla
Alchemilla
Alchemilla is a genus of herbaceous perennial plants in the Rosaceae, and a popular garden herb with the common name Lady's mantle. There are about 300 species, the majority native to cool temperate and subarctic regions of Europe and Asia, with a few species native to the mountains of Africa,...
, Androsace
Androsace
Androsace is the second largest genus in the Primulaceae. It is a predominantly Arctic-alpine genus with many species in the Himalayas , the mountains of central Asia, the Caucasus, and the southern and central European mountain systems, particularly the Alps and the Pyrenees.Recent molecular...
, Anemone
Anemone
Anemone , is a genus of about 120 species of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae in the north and south temperate zones...
, Diapensia
Diapensia
Diapensia lapponica is a plant in the family Diapensiaceae, the only circumpolar species in the genus Diapensia, the others being mainly in the Himalayas. It is a circumboreal arctic-alpine species which grows on exposed rocky ridges that are kept free from snow by high winds .It is a small...
, Draba
Draba
Draba is a large genus of cruciferous plants, commonly known as whitlow-grasses. There are over 400 species:*Draba abajoensis Windham & Al-Shehbaz*Draba × abiskoensis O.E.Schulz*Draba × abiskojokkensis O.E.Schulz...
, Gentiana, Impatiens
Impatiens
Impatiens is a genus of about 850–1,000 species of flowering plants, widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere and tropics. Together with the puzzling Hydrocera triflora, this genus makes up the family Balsaminaceae...
, Leontopodium
Leontopodium
Leontopodium is a genus of plants in the daisy family, which includes edelweiss , a well-known plant from the mountains of Europe. The term edelweiss can, more rarely, refer to other members of the genus...
, Meconopsis
Meconopsis
Meconopsis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Papaveraceae. The species have attractive flowers and have two distinct ranges. A single species, Meconopsis cambrica , is indigenous to England, Wales, Ireland, and the fringes of Western Europe. The other 40 or so species are found in the...
, Pedicularis, Potentilla
Potentilla
Potentilla is the genus of typical cinquefoils, containing about 500 species of annual, biennial and perennial herbs in the rose family Rosaceae. They are generally Holarctic in distribution, though some may even be found in montane biomes of the New Guinea Highlands...
, Primula
Primula
Primula is a genus of 400–500 species of low-growing herbs in the family Primulaceae. They include primrose, auricula, cowslip and oxlip. Many species are grown for their ornamental flowers...
, Rhododendron
Rhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
, Saussurea
Saussurea
Saussurea is a genus of about 300 species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to cool temperate and arctic regions of Asia, Europe, and North America, with the highest diversity in alpine habitats in the Himalaya and central Asia...
, Saxifraga, Sedum
Sedum
Sedum is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Crassulaceae, members of which are commonly known as stonecrops. It contains around 400 species of leaf succulents that are found throughout the Northern Hemisphere, varying from annual and creeping herbs to shrubs. The plants have...
, and Viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
. In the spring and summer, the alpine meadows are covered with brightly-colored flowers.
On the upper slopes, low grasses and cushion plants grow among the boulders and scree.
Fauna
Large mammals include the Snow LeopardSnow Leopard
The snow leopard is a moderately large cat native to the mountain ranges of South Asia and Central Asia...
(Uncia uncia), Bharal
Bharal
The bharal or Himalayan blue sheep or naur, Pseudois nayaur, is a caprid found in the high Himalayas of Nepal, Tibet, China, India, Pakistan, and Bhutan...
or Himalayan Blue Sheep (Pseudois nayaur), Himalayan Tahr
Himalayan Tahr
The Himalayan Tahr or Common Thar is a large ungulate related to the wild goat.-Habitat:...
(Hemitragus jemlahicus), takin
Takin
The Takin , also called cattle chamois or gnu goat, is a goat-antelope found in the Eastern Himalayas. There are four subspecies: B. taxicolor taxicolor, the Mishmi Takin; B. taxicolor bedfordi, the Shanxi or Golden Takin; B. taxicolor tibetana, the Tibetan or Sichuan Takin; and B. taxicolor...
(Budorcas taxicolor), Himalayan Musk Deer
Himalayan Musk Deer
The Himalayan Musk Deer is a species of musk deer. It used to be considered a subspecies of the Alpine musk deer.It is found in parts of northern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, and in northern parts of India such as Kashmir, Kumaon and Sikkim. It inhabits high alpine environments,...
(Moschus chrysogaster), Himalayan Goral (Nemorhaedus baileyi), and Mainland Serow
Mainland Serow
The Mainland Serow is a species of goat antelope native to China and Southeast Asia. The name "mainland serow" was formerly referring to Capricornis sumatraensis, which used to be the scientific name for all serows in the mainland and Sumatra when they were all considered to be the same species...
(Capricornis sumatraensis). Smaller mammals include Himalayan Marmot
Himalayan marmot
The Himalayan marmot is a marmot found in the Himalayan regions ranging in elevation from . They can be seen in the Deosai plains in Pakistan and Ladakh in India. They are about the size of a large housecat, and live in colonies. Marmota himalayana is closely related to the woodchuck, the hoary...
s (Marmota himalayana), weasels, and pikas.
Conservation
Several protected areas lie within or partly within the ecoregion, including:- Valley of Flowers National Park, India
- Annapurna Conservation AreaAnnapurna Conservation AreaThe Annapurna Conservation Area is Nepal's largest protected area covering in the Annapurna range of the Himalayas.-External links:*...
, Nepal - Bomdeling Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhutan
- Dihang-Dibang Biosphere ReserveDihang-Dibang Biosphere ReserveDihang-Dibang or Dehang-Debang is a Biosphere Reserve constituted under the scheme of Man & Biosphere Programme. It is located in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The Mouling National Park and the Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary are located fully or partly within this biosphere reserve. The reserve...
, India - Dongjiu Nature Reserve, China
- Jigme Singye Wangchuck National ParkJigme Singye Wangchuck National ParkJigme Singye Wangchuck National Park covers an area of in central Bhutan. The Park occupies most of Trongsa District, as well as parts of Sarpang, Tsirang, Wangdue Phodrang, and Zhemgang Districts. Jigme Singye abuts Royal Manas National Park to the southeast...
, Bhutan - Jigme Dorji National ParkJigme Dorji National ParkThe Jigme Dorji National Park, named after the late Jigme Dorji Wangchuk, is the second-largest National Park of Bhutan. It occupies almost the entire Gasa District, as well as the northern areas of Thimphu District, Paro District, Punakha, and Wangdue Phodrang Districts...
, Bhutan - Langtang National ParkLangtang National ParkLangtang National Park is the fourth national park in Nepal and was established in 1976 as the first Himalayan national park. The protected area exceeds an altitudinal range of and covers an area of in the Nuwakot, Rasuwa and Sindhulpalchok districts of the central Himalayan region encompassing...
, Nepal - Makalu-Barun National Park and Conservation Area, Nepal
- Motuo Nature Reserve, China
- Sakteng Wildlife SanctuarySakteng Wildlife SanctuarySakteng Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary located mostly in Trashigang District and just crossing the border into Samdrup Jongkhar District, Bhutan. It is one of the country's protected areas.-Flora and fauna:...
, Bhutan - Sagarmatha National ParkSagarmatha National ParkSagarmāthā National Park is a protected area in the Himalayas of eastern Nepal containing the southern half of Mount Everest. The park was created on July 19, 1976 and was inscribed as a Natural World Heritage Site in 1979...
, Nepal - Thrumshingla National ParkThrumshingla National ParkThrumshingla National Park in central Bhutan covers just over across four districts, but primarily in Mongar. It is bisected by the Lateral Road, and contains the Thrumshing La pass.-Flora and fauna:...
, Bhutan - Torsa Strict Nature ReserveTorsa Strict Nature ReserveThe Torsa Strict Nature Reserve in Bhutan covers in Haa District, occupying most of its area. It borders Sikkim and Tibet to the west and is connected to Jigme Dorji National Park via a "biological corridor." Torsa contains the westernmost temperate forests of Bhutan, from broadleaf forests to...
, Bhutan - Walong National Park, India
- Nanda Devi National ParkNanda Devi National ParkThe Nanda Devi National Park is a national park situated around the peak of Nanda Devi, , in the state of Uttarakhand in northern India. It was established as national park in 1982. Along with the adjoining Valley of Flowers National Park to the northwest, it was inscribed a World Heritage Site by...
, India
